WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Two people have been charged after the FBI said they thwarted a terrorist plot in Dearborn.
Multiple people were arrested Friday by the FBI. Dearborn homes and storage facilities were searched by federal authorities on Oct. 31 following the arrests.
On Monday, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud were formally charged. They are each facing a count of “receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the firearms and ammunition would be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism.”
“FBI Detroit and its Joint Terrorism Task Force are relentless in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Michigan and beyond,” said Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit field office, in a social media post. “Defending the homeland will always be one of our top priorities, and we will utilize every available federal resource to disrupt and dismantle any individuals or groups who threaten national security. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for their dedicated support, and I encourage the American public to read the criminal complaint.”
Here’s what we know so far about the case:
FBI director announces arrests
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X early Friday morning, saying multiple people were arrested for allegedly “plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend.”
This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend. More details to come. Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 31, 2025
FBI raids Dearborn homes
The FBI searched through two homes in Dearborn on Oct. 31 -- one home in the area of Middlepointe and Morross, and the other in the area of Ford and Shaefer.
Storage facilities in Dearborn, Inkster searched
The FBI searched a storage facility on Michigan Avenue in Inkster on Oct. 31. The FBI then said there is no threat to the public following the search.
A U-Haul location in Dearborn was reportedly searched by the FBI in connection with the plot on Friday. U-Haul offered this statement: “U-Haul has worked closely with law enforcement to assist their investigation in this matter.”
Dearborn attorney challenges FBI
Dearborn attorney Amir Makled said his client, a 20-year-old from Dearborn, is still in federal custody despite still having no charges filed against him as of Sunday evening.
Although federal authorities say the arrests are connected to a potential plan to carry out an attack over Halloween weekend, Mackled said he’s found no evidence that any steps to carry out an attack were ever taken.
“Through my investigation, I’ve come to find out that there was never a planned attack,” Makled said. “These individuals that were investigated, were teenage boys, they range from ages 16 to 20, are not part of a terrorist cell.”
Makled said of the five suspects taken into custody, three including his client are still in custody and two others were questioned and released.
“There’s nothing in his communications, there’s nothing in his chats, there’s nothing in his telephone, there’s nothing that’s going to show in electronic forensic searches in his devices that’s going to show that this is a guy that wanted to cause harm to others,” Makled said.
Makled described the alleged suspects as gamers who legally own firearms and go to gun ranges recreationally. Makled estimated they own three to four firearms between all five of them and said previous reports that they had access to firearm training are untrue.
“They go to the range, and they shoot their registered and legally owned firearms, which is all legal,” Makled said. “So is this some kind of racial profiling? We don’t know.”
Read more here --> Dearborn attorney challenges FBI’s claims of thwarted alleged terror plot, citing lack of evidence
A spokesperson for the FBI Detroit Field Office declined to comment on Makled’s claims. A spokesperson for the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Details on suspects arrested, according to reports
NBC News reported the five people arrested are naturalized citizens from a Middle Eastern country who had access to firearms and firearm training, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation say.
Three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that no specific targets have been identified so far in the ongoing investigation.
According to the Associated Press, the investigation involved discussion in an online chatroom involving at least some of the suspects who were taken into custody. The group had discussed carrying out an attack around Halloween, referring to “pumpkin day,” according to one of the people. The other person briefed on the investigation confirmed with AP that there had been a “pumpkin” reference.